Love’s 20th tour victory strengthens Hall of Fame bid

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – So much for the notion the Fall Series on the PGA Tour is meaningless. On the surface, Davis Love III winning at Disney might have looked that way.

He scrambled for pars on the last two holes to hold off a rookie (Tommy Gainey) who was 228th on the money list, wears two gloves and looks like he’s trying to kill a snake every time he swings. When it was over, Love posed with a bronze trophy of Mickey Mouse playing golf (just think of the white elephant gift nobody will take off your hands).

But that win was enough to change the perception of Love.

Timing is everything.

He won the final event of a season in which he struggled to return from an ankle injury from October 2007 that kept him out of golf for four months. And his victory came one day before the induction ceremony for the World Golf Hall of Fame.

It probably won’t be long before Love, whose win enhanced his credentials, is on that stage, perhaps as early as next year.

Love received 19 percent of the votes on the PGA Tour ballot this year, eighth in the voting and far short of the 65 percent needed for election. The only difference is a victory across the street from the Magic Kingdom.

It gave him more than $828,000, a two-year exemption and a trip to Kapalua for the winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship.

More than anything, it gave him 20 victories, a figure only three others have surpassed – Tiger Woods (65), Phil Mickelson (34) and Vijay Singh (34).

Love has won at least once in 13 seasons, and he extended his PGA Tour record by going over $1 million in earnings for the 14th consecutive year.